Several Schools in CMS Now Reporting Dangerous Lead Levels in Drinking Water

Charlotte Stories
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Several Schools in CMS Now Reporting Dangerous Lead Levels in Drinking Water

With the 2018 school season fast approaching, some parents are now becoming concerned over the increased levels of lead at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.

According to the EPA, schools are required to take action if lead found in their water system exceeds 15 parts per billion, yet some schools that have been tested at 400 parts per billion have yet to make changes.

During the latest test, 24 schools tested positive for high lead levels, and while most have taken action, some have yet to clean up their pipes. Some of the highest schools which have yet to do anything are  Dorothy J Vaughan Academy of Technology at 120 parts per billion and Trillium Springs Montessori at 430 parts per billion.

According to the EPA, kids are especially vulnerable to lead exposure.

They note that, “in children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.”

You can see all the lead level reports for schools in CMS here.

Top 10 Best Things To Do Around Charlotte This Weekend

Steve
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Top 10 Best Things To Do Around Charlotte This Weekend

The weekend is almost here!

There will be tons of concerts, festivals, and the official kickoff of the upcoming Panther season!

Here are the top 10 things happening around the Charlotte region this weekend:

#1 Carolina Panthers Fan Fest

The Carolina Panthers will host the 2018 Fan Fest celebration this evening at the Bank of America Stadium. Practice will begin at 7 p.m.
Stadium gates open at 6 p.m., and the event will include performances by the TopCats, Sir Purr, PurrCussion and the Black & Blue Crew. Practice begins at 7 p.m., featuring individual drills as well as seven-on-seven, special teams and team periods. Fans in attendance will receive a 2018 team roster photo card as a gate giveaway. The event culminates with a spectacular fireworks and laser show.

For tickets or more info click here.

#2 Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson, AKA, the “Queen of Pop,” is bringing her elaborate stage show and Grammy Award-winning music to Charlotte, including her chart-topping singles such as “When I Think of You,” “Nasty,” “If” and “That’s The Way Love Goes.”

She’ll be taking the PNC Music Pavilion stage tonight at 8pm.

For tickets or more info click here.

#3 9th Annual Joedance Film Festival

The 9th Annual Joedance Film Festival will be held Friday–Saturday, August 3-4, 2018 (8-11 p.m.) at Charlotte Ballet, 701 N. Tryon St.

Admission begins at 7:30 p.m. each night. Films begin at 8 p.m. Tickets cost begin at $25 for each night and can be purchased online at www.joedance.org.

For more info click here.

#4 South Carolina Tax-Free Weekend

If you’re looking to pick up some back to school supplies for this upcoming season, you might want to head down to South Carolina this weekend. The Palmetto State is hosting their annual tax-free weekend on thousands of items in stores across the state.

For more info click here.

#5 Pentatonix with special guests Echosmith and Calum Scott

Famed a cappella group Pentatonix has been unstoppable since winning the third season of “The Sing-Off,” and in just the past few years they have embarked on major world tours and have pocketed Grammy Awards.

Now, a cappella lovers all over the Charlotte region have the chance to see Pentatonix live in concert, as this popular vocal group is getting ready to descend on the Queen City.

The show starts at 8pm this Saturday evening at the PNC Music Pavilion.

For more info or tickets click here.

#6 Counting Crows Live in Charlotte

Known for its introspective, expressive lyrics penned by lead singer Adam Duritz, Counting Crows is a rock band that can coax people to think about the meaning of life. In terms of sound, the angst-ridden band is an amalgamation of The Band, R.E.M and Van Morrison, while still having a character of its own.
They’ll be performing live at the PNC Music Pavilion this Sunday night starting at 6:30pm.

#7 4th Annual ArtPop Art Auction

This coming Saturday is ArtPop’s 4th annual art auction with live music, food, drinks – help them do more for local artists by buying your ticket to the event!

Check out more information here.

#8 Charlotte’s First Annual Seth Curry Basketball Camp

Charlotte’s first annual Seth Curry Basketball camp will take place tomorrow at the Charlotte Christian School

First Session 9:00am-12:00pm (Ages 7-11)

Second Session 1:00pm-4:00pm (Ages 12-16)

For more info click here.

#9 Blakeney Summer Concert Series

Get your picnic blankets and lawn chairs ready, because your summer schedule just got a lot more fun.

Beginning tomorrow (8/4) from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., local favorites return to Blakeney and bring fun for the entire family.

This free event series is open to the public, so grab your friends, family, and neighbors for an evening of music, shopping and fun. Take advantage of special offers from select Blakeney retailers and restaurants throughout the event series. The Blakeney Playground will also be open and ready for action.

For more info click here.

#10 Carolina Bridal Fair

The Carolinas’ Ultimate Wedding Planning Event is happening this Sunday from 12pm-5pm.

When you visit Carolina Bridal Fair and meet wedding professionals from both Carolina’s, planning your wedding will be a breeze – taste cakes and catering options, see amazing flowers and find new ideas in our inspiration area. Attending couples get $1,000 in Carolina Bridal Bucks to spend like cash with participating exhibitors you’ll meet at the show. Plus they are eligible to enter our amazing contests and win amazing prizes.

For more info click here.

If you think other events should be on this list or future lists, let us know – Scott@CharlotteStories.com

Charlotte Ranked As One Of 2018’s Best Cities To Start A Small Business

Steve
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Charlotte Ranked As One Of 2018’s Best Cities To Start A Small Business

Great news for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Charlotte looking to connect – our city was just ranked as one of America’s top cities for small business growth.

WalletHub recently released a study which ranks ‘2018’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business‘. The study analyzed 182 of the biggest cities in America and compared them across 19 key metrics; ranging from five-year business-survival rate, to office-space affordability, to overall business environment.

Overall, Charlotte ranked as the 9th best city to start a business, beating out Raleigh at number 10, Denver at 12, Atlanta at 19, and Houston at 21;

Source: WalletHub

 

The Queen City ranked extremely high on the number and variety of businesses and fairly good in several other categories (1=Best; 91=Avg.);

  • 72nd – Cost of Living
  • 22nd – Length of Average Workweek (in Hours)
  • 30th – Share of College-Educated Population
  • 8th – Industry Variety
  • 1st – Average Growth in Number of Small Businesses

If you’d like to support one of our many small businesses in Charlotte, check out our list of the Top 10 Online Small Businesses in Charlotte.

Save Big This Weekend During South Carolina’s Annual Tax-Free Sale

Steve
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Save Big This Weekend During South Carolina’s Annual Tax-Free Sale

If you’re looking to pick up some back to school supplies for this upcoming season, you might want to head down to South Carolina this weekend. The Palmetto State is hosting their annual tax-free weekend on thousands of items in stores across the state.

According to officials, it’s been estimated that shoppers saved over $3 million in sales taxes last year.

This weekend’s sale in South Carolina covers everything kids might need when they go back to school, including clothing, computers, musical instruments, and even pillowcases.

According to SC REVENUE RULING 10-7;

(a) sales taking place during a period beginning 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in
August and ending at twelve midnight the following Sunday of:
(i) clothing;
(ii) clothing accessories including, but not limited to, hats, scarves, hosiery, and
handbags;
(iii) footwear;
(iv) school supplies including, but not limited to, pens, pencils, paper, binders,
notebooks, books, bookbags, lunchboxes, and calculators;
(v) computers, printers and printer supplies, and computer software;
(vi) bath wash clothes, blankets, bedspreads, bed linens, sheet sets, comforter
sets, bath towels, shower curtains, bath rugs and mats, pillows, and pillow
cases.

(b) The exemption allowed by this item does not apply to:
(i) sales of jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, wallets, watches;
(ii) sales of furniture;
(iii) a sale of an item placed on layaway or similar deferred payment and
delivery plan however described;
(iv) rental of clothing or footwear;
(v) a sale or lease of an item for use in a trade or business

This weekend’s tax sale runs from midnight tonight until 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

The Rock Hill Galleria Mall will also be holding a massive back-to-school block party on Saturday from 10am-2pm featuring;

  • Free bookbags and select school supplies for up to 2,000 students

  • Free dental screenings for kids by Colgate Dental Van & A Healthy Smile

  • Free heart health screenings for adults by Piedmont Medical Center and York County Free Clinic

  • Free identification cards for 200 students

  • Free kids meals from Showmars for 200 students (selected at random)

  • Free photos from On the Spot Photo Booth

  • Get Fit Kid Zone coordinated by Keystone Substance Abuse Services

  • Teen Zone coordinated by Boys & Girls Clubs of York County & Affinity Health Care

  • Door prizes & special discounts

Find out more at back2schoolblockparty.com

40,000 Charlotte Hamilton Tickets Sold Out In 4 Hours – Here’s How To Still Get One

Katherine Miele
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40,000 Charlotte Hamilton Tickets Sold Out In 4 Hours – Here’s How To Still Get One

Broadway fans went into full frenzy mode yesterday morning as tickets for the popular musical “Hamilton” went on sale for the first time in Charlotte.

Blumenthal Performing Arts was planning on selling tickets starting yesterday morning at 8am in a randomized virtual waiting room system – if you signed up between 5am and 7:59am, you would be given a random place in line, allowing you to purchase your ticket when your number was called, starting at 8am.

The problem came in when roughly 8,000 bots flooded the website and temporarily shut down online ticket sales, according to a series of tweets posted by Blumenthal Performing Arts.

“We are so sorry for the continued delay in online sales for Hamilton in Charlotte,” Blumenthal tweeted shortly after 9:30 a.m., about 1.5 hours after ticket sales were supposed to start. “We have learned the technical issue is related to bot prevention software that detected more than 8,000 bots trying to influence the official on sale around 6 a.m.”

50 minutes later, they were finally able to get the issues cleared up and frustrated fans were finally able to start buying tickets;

Most people who were waiting in the virtual line for most of the morning were frustrated to say the least;

By 2pm in the afternoon, most of the 40,000 tickets were mostly sold out, save a few single seats on various dates and a handful of $434.50 VIP seats.

The company is now warning that some 3rd party websites are selling fake tickets and caution buyers to beware when buying from other websites.

At this time the only trusted site selling 3rd party Hamilton tickets is StubHub, which provides a money-back guarantee on any tickets purchased through their system.

Charlotte Hamilton tickets on Stubhub now range in price from $264 – $1,500

Blumenthal will also be putting a special 40 tickets on sale for $10 each just before each performance. You’ll have to download a special Hamilton app, then enter two days before each show date, and if your name is drawn, you can buy up to 2 tickets for $10 each.

Are you excited about Hamilton coming to Charlotte?

Marriott Planning On Building A New Pink ‘Party Hotel’ In Uptown Charlotte

Steve
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Marriott Planning On Building A New Pink ‘Party Hotel’ In Uptown Charlotte

Marriott is now planning to build a trendy new ‘party hotel’ in the center of Charlotte.

Their new Moxy brand is focused on attracting younger party crowds with massive flat screen tvs, multiple 24/7 bars, DJs on staff, and tons of other ‘party-focused’ amenities.

According to the hotel’s website, “Moxy Hotels makes that easy with the heart of a boutique hotel and an appetite for adventure. There’s a drink waiting for you with your room key and someone at the bar that wants your number. Moxy is for play… Jenga, karaoke, maybe a little game of spin the bottle? Here, you can get away with it…”

Here’s their promo video for what you can expect when you stay at Moxy;

The Marriott’s new Charlotte Moxy Party Hotel will include;

  • A total of 200 rooms
  • A massive rooftop bar
  • A pool, fitness center, and garden terrace on the 6th floor
  • Up to 7,000 sqft of retail on the bottom level
  • Street-level parking
via ODA Architects

It’s slated to be built at the corner of at the corner of Brevard and 4th Street;

On an Urban Planet thread about the building several people noted that they appreciated the fact that the building won’t take up the entire block;

“I’ll take it, makes the historic buildings on the corner of Trade much harder to remove and redevelop.” – ricky_davis_fan_21

“GOOD! I hate seeing single buildings that aren’t of a significant height consume entire blocks. I hate surface lots as much as everyone else, but I’d rather see a surface lot remain with potential for future development than see a small building spread its legs around an entire block.” – Hunted

“I hate “superblock” style developments, especially when they’re unnecessary, this hotel doesn’t need to take an entire block, and it’s not going to. It opens up room for variety. Another good example of a well-diversified block would be the block containing 300 South Tryon and the Latta Arcade. You have bars and restaurants, specialty shops, boutique office space, a 5 star hotel, conference rooms, Class A (or AA?) office space, a parking garage (boo) and the chamber of commerce, which I believe also has office space upstairs.” – nakers2

The final rezoning plans for the new Moxy Hotel will be voted on this coming September – if approved, the plan is to host a grand opening in early 2022.

What do you think about the new ‘party hotel’ plans in the center of Charlotte?

King of Pops Giving Away Free Popsicles To Support Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte

Charlotte Stories
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King of Pops Giving Away Free Popsicles To Support Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte

Two southern staples are joining forces for good this back-to-school season. King of Pops, known for their unique and delicious popsicles, and Belk, a 130-year-old department store, are uniting under their shared purpose of creating memorable and happy moments in the lives of their customers.  Through this tasty partnership, children at the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs in 10 southern cities will receive back-to-school outfits.

On Saturday, August 4 from 1 – 5 p.m., King of Pops will be handing out 200 free popsicles at SouthPark Mall (right outside the food court near the entrance by Dick’s Sporting Goods). With each popsicle, customers will receive a “Giving is Sweet” card that can be turned in at their local Belk store and, for each card received, the retailer will donate one back-to-school outfit to a child in need at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte. Customers will also receive a free pair of Belk sunglasses when they redeem their card in-store.

“Giving is Sweet” cards will include specific directions and can be dropped off at Belk between August 4 – 18. In addition to back-to-school outfit donations, Belk and King of Pops will throw a special party for the Boys & Girls Club that redeems the most cards.

Charlotte Now Bracing For Severe Thunderstorms, Flash Floods, and Possible Tornadoes

Steve
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Charlotte Now Bracing For Severe Thunderstorms, Flash Floods, and Possible Tornadoes

The Charlotte region is about to get hammered with several heavy downpours over the next couple days.

According to the National Weather Service, there’s now a Flash Flood Watch is in effect until Friday morning for the entire western half of North Carolina. Residents around the Charlotte region can expect anywhere between 2″-6″, with the largest quantities of rain and even possible mudslides predicted for the foothills. Some areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway could even see up to 7″ of rain over the next 48 hours.

According to Meteorologist Brad Panovich, our region might even see some severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes;

In case of power outages or flooded roads, Duke Energy recommends having the following items handy;

Blackstone Now The First Range In Charlotte To Bring Tactical Training To The Masses

Steve
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Blackstone Now The First Range In Charlotte To Bring Tactical Training To The Masses

Blackstone Shooting Sports, one of our cities newest gun ranges, is now Charlotte’s first facility to bring real-life tactical training simulations to the public.

Most civilian gun ranges feature long bays with static targets for increased firearm accuracy in static positions. Police, military, and some private ranges, however, also include tactical training rooms, allowing users to practice real-world situations. Tactical training includes shooting while moving, moving targets, and shooting under pressure.

In addition to Blackstone’s 27 state-of-the-art static shooting lanes, they also include a 9-lane tactical training bay designed for advanced law enforcement and civiliant training.  Each of the lanes is 25 yards long and can handle handguns, shotguns, and rifles up to 300 Winchester Magnum in caliber.

Here is what their tactical bay looks like during one of their Competitive Shooting Series Events;

A couple months ago, famed Rapper Post Malone even stopped by Blackstone to try it out;

Pricing for Training Packages are as follows:
  • 10 Pack of Sessions $55/Session
  • 5 Pack $65/Session
  • 1 Session $75

You can find out more about using some range time or becoming a member here at BlackstoneShooting.com.

Have you been to Blackstone yet?

What do you think about their tactical bay?

Rental Rates Are Continuing To Grow At Record Paces Across The Charlotte Region

Charlotte Stories
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Rental Rates Are Continuing To Grow At Record Paces Across The Charlotte Region

Even though Charlotte continues to build an ever-increasing number of apartment complexes, rents across our city continue to grow, according to a new report by Apartment List. Over the past month, we saw a city-wide increase of 0.4%, and a 1.5% increase over this time last year.

Currently, median rents in Charlotte stand at $960 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,120 for a two-bedroom. This is the sixth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in January. Charlotte’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 0.9%, as well as the national average of 1.2%.

Rents rising across cities in North Carolina

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Charlotte, but across the entire state. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in North Carolina, all of them have seen prices rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of 0.9% over the past year. Here’s a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.

  • Looking throughout the state, Cary is the most expensive of all North Carolina’s major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $1,240; of the 10 largest North Carolina cities that we have data for, all have seen rents rise year-over-year, with Wilmington experiencing the fastest growth (+2.8%).
  • Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (2.5%, 2.5%, and 2.3%, respectively).

Charlotte rents more affordable than many comparable cities nationwide

As rents have increased slightly in Charlotte, similar cities nationwide have seen rents grow more quickly. Charlotte is still more affordable than most other large cities across the country.

  • Charlotte’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,120 is below the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.2% over the past year compared to the 1.5% increase in Charlotte.
  • While Charlotte’s rents rose slightly over the past year, some cities nationwide saw decreases, including Seattle (-2.4%) and Minneapolis (-0.4%).
  • Renters will find more reasonable prices in Charlotte than most similar cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,090, which is more than two-and-a-half times the price in Charlotte.
City Median 1BR price Median 2BR price M/M price change Y/Y price change
Charlotte $960 $1,120 0.4% 1.5%
Concord $800 $930 -1.1% -3.3%
Gastonia $680 $800 0.8% 1.2%
Rock Hill $830 $970 0.2% -0.4%
Huntersville $1,090 $1,280 0.3% 0.8%
Matthews $1,020 $1,180 0.7% 3.1%
Cornelius $910 $1,060 0.9% 2.3%
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